The present invention relates to the new and distinct cultivar known botanically as a hybrid of Prunus and referred to hereinafter as ‘VVA-1’. The new invention was bred by the inventor at the Breeding Station in Krymsk, Russia.
The breeding program at the Breeding Station was established in 1956 and funded by the government of the former Soviet Union for the purpose of producing new improved Prunus cultivars that serve well as rootstock, are dwarf in size, resistant to low temperatures, compatible with peach, plum and apricot, and propagate well by use of hardwood, softwood cuttings, and meristem cuttings in vitro.
The inventor obtained seed from the female parent Prunus tomentosa (not patented), in his own garden in Moscow and planted the seed in a cultivated area of Krymsk, Russia. The resulting seedlings were then planted in a Prunus cerasifera (not patented) orchard during blossom time. Here the seedlings were pollinated by the male parent Prunus cerasifera. The resulting seeds were sown and the new cultivar ‘VVA-1’ was selected from these seedlings in 1966. Ten years of observation and evaluation followed at the Breeding Station in Krymsk, Russia. The new cultivar originated as a single plant and is the result of a hybrid cross between the female parent Prunus tomentosa (not patented) and the male parent Prunus cerasifera (not patented).
The closest comparison plant is the female parent Prunus tomentosa. ‘VVA-1’ differs from the female parent in its long leaf, large and dark fruit and low fruit bearing. The characteristics that distinguish the new cultivar from the male parent are dwarf habit, wrinkled leaf, and pubescent stems. The distinguishing traits that make ‘VVA-1’ unique from all other existing varieties of Prunus rootstock known to the inventor include resistance to low temperatures, dwarf habit, ability to serve as rootstock that is compatible with other crops, and the ability to propagate well by use of hardwood, softwood cuttings and meristem cuttings in vitro.
‘VVA-1’ was first asexually propagated in 1966 by the inventor at the Breeding Station in Krymsk, Russia. The method used was softwood cuttings. The distinguishing traits have been determined stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.